Erdogan Slams US For Blocking Palestinian Leaders At UN; Belgium Sanctions Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fuming after the Trump administration blocked Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders from attending the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York scheduled for later this month.

PA leader Mahmoud Abbas is not being issued a visa to enter US soil (along with his delegation), as retribution for his leading the charge in support of a Palestinian state, and for waging a ‘lawfare campaign’ against Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. Erdogan said this only plays into Israel’s hands, which is busy conducting “massacres” and “cruelty” in Gaza.

The move “does not fit the United Nations’ raison d’etre,” Erdogan told reporters on a flight after leaving China, where he attended the SCO Tianjin Summit 2025. “The decision needs to be urgently revised. The United Nations General Assembly exists for the issues of the world to be discussed and for solutions to be found,” he said.

“The Palestinian delegation not being at the General Assembly would only please Israel,” he added. “What is expected from the United States is to say ‘stop’ to Israel’s massacres, cruelty.”

Turkey has throughout much of the conflict been hands down the most vocal global critic of Israel, denouncing what Erdogan has called the mass murder of Palestinians and Israel’s “genocidal policies”. A trade war has also ensued. Many products from Israel have been banned from entering Turkey.

Meanwhile, one of the things that Washington and Tel Aviv fear most is the growing trend of recognition of Palestinian statehood among the West.

Belgium is the latest EU nation to announce it will recognize the State of Palestine at the UNGA. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot announced, “Palestine will be recognized by Belgium at the UN session! And firm sanctions will be imposed against the Israeli government.”

The statement said that “Belgium had to take strong decisions to increase pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas terrorists.” It added, “This is not about sanctioning the Israeli people but about ensuring that their government respects international and humanitarian law and taking action to try to change the situation on the ground.” It previewed that “firm” sanctions are coming.

France has meanwhile been leading the way on this, and it’s somewhat unprecedented that significant European countries one by one would also be bringing sanctions against Israel. Canada, Australia, and Britain have made similar declarations – ramping up the pressure on Israel. But these sanctions have been limited mostly to products coming from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Belgium’s announcement, urging other nations to also “intensify practical efforts to stop the crimes of genocide, displacement, starvation, and annexation, and to open a real political path to resolve the conflict.”

A statement on X said the PA considers Belgium’s right actions “to be in line with international law and United Nations resolutions, and protective of the two-state solution and supportive of achieving peace.”